Chapter 24 The Small Space Recognizes Its Master...

Chapter 24 The Small Space Recognizes Its Master...

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"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'the first time they met, Li Xiangxiang asked Anguo to send the three children away,' or 'the second time they met, she asked Anguo to send the children back to his hometown for us two old men to raise?' If that's the case, then Li Xiangxiang's character is indeed quite admirable." You Maidong's words were anything but polite.

To be honest, very few people in the Ye family liked Zhou Xiaoping. She was a very opportunistic person who wouldn't do anything without personal gain. She was also extremely sexist and treated Li Qingqing very badly. Despite her sexism, she still gave birth to seven daughters.

Because Zhou Xiaoping favored sons over daughters and had no sons, while Li Xiangxiang had four younger brothers, Zhou Xiaoping and her husband wanted to adopt a boy from Li Xiangxiang's family, so they tried their best to treat Li Xiangxiang and her siblings well, which led to the tragic fate of Li Qingqing and her sister.

Extremely patriarchal, after having seven daughters, they would give their niece Li Xiangxiang whatever she asked for, while completely indifferent to their own seven daughters.

As the youngest daughter, Li Qingqing not only didn't receive much care when she was young, but she also suffered the most. This was because when the eldest daughters were born, Zhou Xiaoping and her husband were still hoping to have a son, so they treated their eldest daughters relatively well.

However, when the youngest, Li Qingqing, was born, she was disliked and not even given a second glance. If it weren't for Li Qingqing's grandmother protecting her, she probably wouldn't have seen the sun on the second day after her birth.

Li Qingqing grew up being disliked, and even after she got married, she was still morally blackmailed by Zhou Xiaoping in the name of her parents, who would constantly find various reasons to ask her for money or things.

Fortunately, Li Qingqing was clear-headed and never allowed her to take advantage of others. After finally starting to live a good life after marrying into the Ye family, she was unwilling to ruin it for her parents who didn't love her.

After Li Qingqing got married, Zhou Xiaoping hadn't visited the Ye family for several years because she knew she couldn't get anything out of Li Qingqing. This time, however, she started seeing them again to arrange for Li Xiangxiang to marry Ye Anguo.

Li Xiangxiang was spoiled by her parents and Zhou Xiaoping since she was a child, which fostered an extremely selfish and self-centered personality. Although she was good-looking and pretty, and her skin was fairer than other girls in the village because she didn't have to work in the fields, she was also spoiled by her appearance and became arrogant and ignorant. She really thought she was a little princess who could have whatever she wanted.

Although Li Xiangxiang grew up in the countryside, people looked down on country folk. She was determined to marry into a working-class family in the city and enjoy a better life, believing that country men were not good enough for her. Unfortunately, the boys in the city also wanted to find someone with a job and didn't want her either. As a result, Li Xiangxiang was still unmarried at the age of twenty-two and became a well-known figure in her village.

So Xiangxiang may not have the life of a princess, but she has the habits of one. She has very high standards when it comes to finding a partner. If she hadn't already turned 22, she still wouldn't have been interested in Ye Anguo, who was a soldier.

Later, they heard that Ye Anguo had become a regimental commander at a young age. Zhou Xiaoping and Li Xiangxiang thought that although Ye Anguo had three adopted sons, they were not his biological children after all. Once he had his own biological children, he wouldn't have to care too much about these three adopted sons.

I also heard that Ye Anguo has a high salary. In their village, a company commander earns 89 yuan a month. Ye Anguo is a regimental commander, who is the superior of the company commanders. His salary must be more than 100 yuan, right?

Just for Ye Anguo's salary of a little over a hundred yuan, Zhou Xiaoping, who hadn't visited for several years after realizing she couldn't get any advantage from Li Qingqing's marriage, came to the Ye family again, bringing a basket of pretty but unpalatable sour tangerines that she couldn't sell.

This is because Ye Anguo himself loves sour tangerines, and they just happened to stumble upon them. This is what Jiang Lai heard before, that Li Qingqing's mother specially sent them over because she heard that Ye Anguo loves sour tangerines, but she didn't say anything to save face for Li Qingqing.

The Ye family really likes Li Qingqing and feels sorry for her past life at home. They usually try their best to care for her and give her face in front of the Li family. Today, You Maidong's words made them really angry. It's because they usually give them too much face that they think they are easy to talk to and can make decisions for the Ye family. They even stuff all sorts of dirty and smelly things into the Ye family.

Don't say that Li Qingqing, who was bullied by Li Xiangxiang since childhood, couldn't like her. Or rather, Ye Jia doesn't have anyone who likes her. You Maidong especially hates Zhou Xiaoping, who is brain-dead and can't think straight. Originally, out of respect for Li Qingqing, You Maidong barely managed to get along with her, but now, damn it, You Maidong doesn't want to put up with it anymore.

A person who is spoiled by her family and doesn't know her place, selfish and morally questionable, still wants to covet the most promising child in the family. Putting aside whether she will treat Ye Wenyu and the other two well after she marries in, or whether she will mistreat them, I'm afraid that even without the three children, the entire Ye family will be turned upside down. It is said that one should marry a virtuous wife, and this Li Xiangxiang is clearly not someone who can tolerate others.

“Mother-in-law, what you’re saying is really going too far.” Zhou Xiaoping treats Li Xiangxiang even better than her own daughter. Over the decades, this has become a habit, and she simply cannot bear to hear anyone say anything bad about Li Xiangxiang.

"How did I go too far? Every word I just said was spoken by her. It's just that you came to propose marriage and I haven't even agreed yet. This is still far from settled, and you're already trying to interfere in my family's affairs. What, you think you can decide on a marriage just by having any matchmaker come to your door? Why don't you find someone to propose marriage to a high-ranking leader?"

"You didn't say you were giving me face because of Qingqing, but I didn't expect you to be so shameless. I already said it wasn't suitable, but you still brought people to my door. Can't you understand human language? Do I have to clearly say that I don't like your family?"

"I really don't understand. You don't cherish your own daughter, but you cherish someone who has no blood relation to you whatsoever. Are you so sure you can rely on them when you're old? You come to your daughter whenever you need something, why don't you go to your good nephew and niece..."

You Maidong unleashed all the words he had been holding back for years, rebuking Zhou Xiaoping from head to toe countless times. This clearly shows how much prejudice You Maidong held against Zhou Xiaoping.

To be honest, You Maidong's fighting power is still very strong. Ye Anguo, who was just angry, didn't even need to say a word. After You Maidong opened his mouth, no one could get a word in edgewise, and Zhou Xiaoping's face turned bright red.

If Zhou Xiaoping could wake up after being told off, then they wouldn't have remained so stubborn for decades.

In Zhou Xiaoping's eyes, Li Xiangxiang and her brother had become an obsession. Perhaps it was because Li Xiangxiang and her brother were too good at sweet talk in front of Zhou Xiaoping and her group, or perhaps they had already sensed something was wrong. However, the sunk costs were too high, and they were unwilling to give up so much without receiving any return. In any case, they would not change their minds.

So even though You Maidong had already said a lot, Zhou Xiaoping didn't show any shame. On the contrary, the more You Maidong talked, the more unconvinced she became. In the end, the expression on her face could only be described as resentful.

However, because You Maidong has always been assertive, Ye Yuanliang listens to her. Even though the Ye family has now split up, the Ye family's sons and daughters-in-law are all very obedient. Even if Zhou Xiaoping doesn't dare to confront her, she doesn't have the confidence to do so.

"My dear in-law, I have some things to take care of at home, and Xiangxiang has run off again, so I'll be leaving now." Zhou Xiaoping said, and left without paying any attention to You Maidong's reaction.

"Tch, if she hadn't left, I would have given her a good lecture about Qingqing's childhood. I'd like to see just how thick-skinned she is, someone who only cares about raising children but not about their upbringing." Even after Zhou Xiaoping had left, You Maidong couldn't help but say.

When she turned around, she found Jiang Lai looking at her. You Maidong's face immediately changed: Oh no, she had just scolded Zhou Xiaoping so much. What if Jiang Lai misunderstood that she treated her mother-in-law like this? What if she misunderstood her?

"Hehe... Jiang Lai, don't misunderstand. I don't usually curse people randomly, and I wouldn't treat my mother-in-law like that. It's just that my mother-in-law is too unreliable." Jiang Lai saw You Maidong's face twitch a few times, and she didn't know what she was thinking or what she was thinking.

Jiang Lai certainly didn't misunderstand. After watching the whole thing, all she could say was that You Maidong had done a great job. So she went up to You Maidong and affectionately took her hand, saying, "No, Auntie is so good to my sister-in-law."

"Isn't that what we should do? Qingqing is now a member of the Ye family after marrying into our family. How can we let outsiders bully our own family?" You Maidong was very happy to see that Jiang Lai hadn't misunderstood her, and even her tone became more lively.

“Your thinking is correct, but most people are not as reasonable as you and treat their daughters-in-law as outsiders. No wonder the atmosphere in your family is so good. It’s all because you are a good mother-in-law.” Jiang Lai’s words came from the bottom of her heart. She had seen many conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, especially in this era, where many mothers-in-law are daughters-in-law who have endured hardship to become mothers-in-law.

Jiang Lai believes that the most crucial point of conflict between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law is that mothers-in-law tend to nitpick at their daughters-in-law and interfere too much in their sons' married life.

A good mother-in-law who truly cares about her son's marriage will not interfere in their relationship or speak ill of her daughter-in-law in front of her son. Regardless of your own stance, you must always show that you are on your daughter-in-law's side. This can reduce 70-80% of conflicts.

Of course, in addition, daughters-in-law also need to know how to be good daughters-in-law and respect the elderly. Even if their living habits and educational philosophies are different, even if they really can't stand it, they should not have a direct outburst. If both sides are tactful, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will be much more harmonious.

You Maidong did this particularly well, even though Ye Anguo, the second oldest, was not married. However, after Ye Anpeng and Ye Anming got married, they separated their households. It is said that distance makes the heart grow fonder, and as long as you don't interfere in their small family, there will be no conflict.

Despite the slight pain, You Maidong felt particularly proud of what he had done. Looking around, no other family in Aoli Village could be as harmonious as theirs.

"That's right. A daughter-in-law is a person too. She was raised by her parents. She doesn't feel secure when she marries into our family. How can you not treat her well? Besides, the only person who can accompany my son for a lifetime is his daughter-in-law. Parents and children can only accompany him for a period of time. How can someone who truly wants the best for their son only care about what's in front of them?"

"So it's because you're so sensible. I could tell at lunch that the whole family respected you a lot." Jiang Lai gave her a thumbs up.

However, because You Maidong hadn't asked for leave when she came back, even though she was having a great time talking with Jiang Lai, she had to leave quickly after a few words: "Jiang Lai, come over to my house when you have time. I have to go back to work. I didn't ask for leave today either, or the team leader will deduct my work points if I don't go back soon."

"Okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'll come see you again when I have time. If you have time to go to the city, come visit me at my house." Jiang Lai's words were just polite. She and Ye Anguo had only just started dating, and even if she wanted to come, Liu Aihua wouldn't let her. In Liu Aihua's words, girls should be reserved.

"Okay, okay, I'll visit you after the late rice harvest. I have to go back to work now... Anguo, don't stay home this afternoon. Your train is this afternoon, so hurry up and pack your bags while you still have time. Send Jiang Lai back, and you can spend the rest of the time in the city shopping and buy her some clothes and shoes. You don't know when you'll get a break after you go back to the army."

It's clear that You Maidong is extremely satisfied with Jiang Lai. In You Maidong's mind, Jiang Lai is a beautiful and kind-hearted girl. She is good-looking, comes from a good family, has a job, is a good cook, and is generous and not arrogant. It wouldn't be an exaggeration for such a girl to be matched with a high-ranking official in the city.

You Maidong felt that Ye Anguo must have been incredibly lucky to find such a good partner. It wasn't that she looked down on her son, but Ye Anguo had adopted three children before even getting married, and like Li Xiangxiang had just said, there were quite a few people who thought these children were Ye Anguo's illegitimate children.

Therefore, judging from the existing conditions, Ye Anguo is not a good match for Jiang Lai. After all, Ye Anguo is 28 years old, still has a rural household registration, and has three adopted sons. Jiang Lai, on the other hand, is a city girl, only 20 years old, young and beautiful, from a working-class family, and has a good job herself.

If others knew that Jiang Lai and Ye Anguo were dating, they would probably think she was out of her mind. With her qualities, she could find any kind of boy she wanted, so why did she have to find an old man and become a stepmother to three children?

"By the way, didn't we harvest the sweet potatoes and potatoes at home? Take a sack and fill it up for Jiang Lai to take back and try. Jiang Lai's family in the countryside doesn't have much good stuff, but try these sweet potatoes and potatoes and see if you like them. They're grown in yellow clay soil, and they taste pretty good," You Maidong said before leaving.

"No need, thank you, Auntie." Jiang Lai quickly declined, thinking that in terms of food, there was probably no one in the entire country richer than her.

As soon as You Maidong left, Ye Anguo entered the room. He took a bag and packed the few sets of clothes he had in the closet, thus completing his packing task.

This bag looks familiar. It seems like Ye Anguo was carrying this bag the day Jiang Lai and Ye Anguo first met: "Did you just come back from outside that day? But you were also riding a bicycle that day. I'm quite curious where you got the bicycle?"

“He’s my comrade-in-arms; his home isn’t far from the train station,” Ye Anguo explained.

Okay, she must be stupid. The only other option besides buying it was borrowing it. She asked a brainless question.

"Let's go, I'll take you home first." Ye Anguo came over carrying two sacks of chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and potatoes.

Jiang Lai looked at the two sacks and asked, "Uh, how are you going to deliver this? There's so much stuff. Or is your comrade's bicycle still here?"

"Put the chestnuts on the back seat and tie them there. You sit on the crossbar in front," Ye Anguo said, pointing to the crossbar in front of the heavy-duty bicycle.

Jiang Lai felt a pain in her butt just looking at it. It would be strange if it were comfortable to sit on such a bar: "Sitting like this is uncomfortable, and I'm not short. If I sit in front, I'll block your view. How will you ride your bike then?"

Jiang Lai was very self-aware. She was fine riding her bike empty, but she definitely couldn't carry a big man like Ye Anguo.

"I have a way, wait for me a moment." Ye Anguo took the east and west sides into Ye Anpeng's kitchen, and soon came out with two planks of wood and a rope.

Jiang Lai watched as Ye Anguo fiddled with the wooden planks and ropes on both sides of the bicycle's back seat, and immediately understood what method he had just mentioned.

If the back seat of a bicycle is hung sideways on both sides, it can easily get caught on the tires. Ye Anguo now has two wooden boards tied to both sides so he doesn't have to worry about that anymore.

Sure enough, after the wooden planks were tied up, Ye Anguo tied the openings of the two burlap sacks tightly with rope. Then, there was no need to tie them to the back seat of the bicycle anymore; he could just hang them on the back seat, leaving the back seat empty so that Jiang Lai could sit on it.

"Alright, you can come up first. There are things on both sides, you won't be able to jump up later." After locking the door, Ye Anguo said to Jiang Lai as he pushed his bicycle.

Jiang Lai, holding onto the back seat, asked with some concern, "Is this easy for you to ride? These two sacks are already heavy, and if I sit on them, with all that weight on the back, won't the wheel lift up?"

"It's alright, you're only a few pounds, how could you possibly make my 150-plus pounds of flesh lose its balance?" Ye Anguo was confident that there wouldn't be any problems, and indeed there were none.

It was quite an eventful day. First, I met Ye Anguo's family and learned about their situation. It was a family that didn't make me afraid of marriage.

Then, in order to force them to have sex, Su Erniu actually drugged them. Jiang Lai also destroyed Su Erniu's spatial ability and made Ye Anguo witness Su Erniu's excellent swimming skills, which fully proved Su Erniu's previous ruthlessness.

Jiang Lai sat on the back of the bicycle, discussing with Jin Nian the ownership of the personal space she had separated. In the end, they realized that it was not something they could decide, because not everyone could obtain a personal space.

Jiang Lai was able to obtain the secret realm space because of this opportunity, and Su Erniu was able to obtain the personal space because the ring was brought back from the future. However, it is not so easy for others to gain the recognition of the space.

Even Jiang Lai, the owner of this secret space, has been blacklisted by the spirit of that small space—a spirit that has only just formed consciousness and may never take human form in this life or the next—because she can freely enter and exit that small space. In other words, Jiang Lai can control this space at will and enter and exit at will, but the small space simply refuses to acknowledge her as its master.

However, the issue of the small space recognizing its owner was not something Jiang Lai needed to worry about at all, because as soon as they entered the city, the ring containing the small space disappeared with a "whoosh." Jiang Lai looked in the direction the small space had gone and, lo and behold, it was an acquaintance.

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 00:08:00 on September 9, 2021 and 23:38:12 on September 10, 2021!

Thanks to the little angels who threw the landmine: 2 bystanders;

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Zero 7 bottles; Smoke 5 bottles; No 2 bottles; Vast Expanse of Smoke 1 bottle;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!